Mower



Sept. 13, 1932. lw. J. coULTAS MOwER Filed sepm. 27. 1929v Patented Sept. 13, 1932 i UNITED STATES i WILBUR J. coULTAs. or BooK-ISLAND, ILLINOIS; AssIeNon'To Deanna ooiviirnf, Il

or Monnaie,VILLiNoIs,l A colmena-Irion oF'ILLINoIs MOWER applicati@ mea september 27, 1929, Vserial 1\:f;5.13e5,511.`

Y rise in the surface of the ground, theregular guard ngers are apt to pass over the hay so lodged without getting under it and bringinglit up into position to be cut by the knife of the mower. Also, in thecutting of peas and beans and other plants lying close tothe ground the ordinary guard fingers frequently pass over the vines or do not raise the same high enough to prevent the pods beingcut by the knife.V My presentinventio'ndhas for its principal object to'provide anew and `improved device in therkformv of a lifting guard for machines 'of this type sot-hat the lodged hay,ror the peas, beans,etc., willy be properly raised for cutting bythe knife ofV themower. These lifting guards also serve the additional purpose of forward guideextensions so that the regular 'guard fingers will be guided up and over any obstructions that may be encountered. v l i Another `object of my present invention is to provide a lifting guard which may be quickly and easily attached to each regular guard finger of a mower.f V I VA further obj ect of the invention is to provide such a guard with spring means so that it will be normally held in itslowermost position but will be capable of yielding upwardly in passing over` uneven* groundor striking an obstruction. ,Y f j A still further object'of the 4invention is to provide a lifting guard whichis adapted to be attached to the regular guard fingers of various mowers, regardless o f the lengths of such guard fingers, withoutthe necessity of having to make any special adjustment t adapt it for such attachment.: j y

I accomplish my several objects as illus- Y trated in the accompanying drawing and hereinafter described. VVhatI regard as new is set forth in the claims.4

In the drawing,'-` j v Y Fig. 1 is a top view of my improvedlifting guard in position onone ingers'of ya mowerf;

Oftheregsrggarg .FisQis a Siae viewtheieof j 1:

Fig. 3 's a cross-sectional .view taken on .r

the line'- S-Sof Fig. 1',and,illustrating.rny improved guardA in'itsy lowermost position;

F iglf is a view similar ito Fig. 3"illus trat.`

ing ysaid guard in its most elevated position` Referring to the drawingfindicates the usual finger bar of, amoweraand 6 oneof the regular guard fingers, a-pluralityofwhich j are secured tothe finger bar; [Eachguard finger 6 is secured to theforwardportionof g j the linger bar by mean'sof Va boltf andnut 8 said guard finger extending forwardlyvr from said iingerbar inthe usual manner-as shownV in Fig. 2. Y The ledgerA plate, with whichfeachof these guard fingers is usually i provided, is indicated at 6a, andit will be' understoodthatrthe usual sickle barand.

blades are disposed between` these ledger., plates andthe upper extensions 6b ofrthe.

guard fingers, as `is wellflknownjby those` Vskilled in Athe art. improved )lifting guard is indicated asa whole by they reference numeral'Q', andis preferably formed asa unit although itmay be vformed in other ways than by casting. Thisv lifting guard is ,piv

otallyv connected at its rearend to the. finger,V bar 5,' and to this end lI provide saidllift-l ing guard with `a ,pair of ldepending'side webs 111, 12, onebeing located adjacenteacli- Y side thereof. A suitable bracket 13 is secured I tothe upper portion oftheiin'gerv-barc5 by" means ofthe bolt 7 whichgsecures Y'the' guard. finger @to said finger bar, as shown in Fig. 2 .3 The'rdepending side websl'l and 12 `arep`o`si-l tioned one at each side of theupperportion of the bracket 13 and are pivotally"connectedto said bracket by means' of a, pivot bolt 14, which is heldf in position bya Cotter pin .15, as Ashown iny Fig. l. It will thusbe seenV that bythe parts described-the liftingfguard4 9 ispivotally mounted on the'iinger bar, 'andi' extendslfol'wal'dly therefrom. f

The forwardportionvof thelifting i is pointed and has a relatively 'flat bottoni'V ground..v vThe constructionno'f the/guard is' orprojection 21over which the rear end o f traveling over comparatively level ground.

reenforced by top and bottom ribs or flanges, between which extends a web portion as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. l

About midway of the length of the lifting guard the sides thereof are bulged outwardly as indicated by 9a, 9b, and formed in this bulged out portion is a suitable cavity 16,

which extends longitudinally of said guard and is open at its rear end as shown. 'At the forward end portion ofthe bottom of saidA cavity 16 is provided a small cylindrical n ub or projection 17 for a purpose hereinafter described. f

- A tapered cap 18 is adapted to fit over the cone-shaped forward`f`en'd19' of the guard finger 6, the forward4 end of which extends into the cavity 16,'and to this end said cap is provided with a cone-shapedbore 20, best Vshown in Figs.` 3 and 4. Onthe forward endl of the cap 18 is provided a small lug a coiled spring 22`is adapted to fit, and the forward end' of said spring is adapted to bear against the nub or projection 17 previously described. Y V

Said'spring 22 is alwaysunder compression, and such compression of the spring tends to keep'the lifting'guard 9 in its lowermost position either with the surface 23 of said guard and the upper surface 24' ofthe "Y" cap 18 in contact as shown in Figs.` 2 31H13,

or'with the forward portion of the guard bearingdown'against'the ground, so that the liftingk guard moves along the ground surface in such position .when the machine'is 1 When the forward end of the lifting guard 9, however, meets with a rising slope in the surface ofthe groundor with an obstruction, such forward end will be y forced vupward ,against the action of the spring 22 and will thus follow the contour of the ground.` When thepeakof the rising'slope has been reached the forward end of the lifting guard will again be 'forced down by the action of the Spring-,22. The upward movement of. the

forward end ofthe liftingy guard 9, howy ever, is limited-by the lower side of the cap 18 contacting with the ledge 25 at the lower. rear edge of the cavity 16. The relation between the stop surfaces 23 and 25 andl the spring22is such that no matter what position lthe lifting guard assumes in the range of movement defined by these stopsurfaces the spring 22 will always tend to force the guard down to its lowest position.

*As above mentioned, my improved guard will fit over regular guard fingers of varying lengths'without the need of any special ad-` justment. As will be readily apparent from the drawing, if the regular guard finger 6 is somewhat longer than thatk shown, the spring 22 is merely compressed to a greater amount between the lug21 and thenub and ifth'e regular guard finger shorter,

the compression of said spring will be nor- The inner vertical edges of the side wings 9a and lie in 'close proximity to the side surfaces of theconical cap 18 (Fig. 1) so that if any excessive side thrust -should be vexerted on thev guard it can be resisted by the cap 18. 'l 1 n As4 the forward end of the lifting guard 9 isfnormally in a position lower than the iegular guard fingerA 6, suchV forward end willv Awork into depressions in the ground and lift the hay or other crop up from such depressions so that the same may becut by the knife of the mower. It will beV understood that therpresent lifting guard is adapt` ed for use on mowers in thecutting of hay, alfalfa, or any other crop as desired, and in this connection attention is called to the fact that in using these lifting guards in the cut-` ting of peas'andbeans theflexibility of the guards enables themv to follow'uneven groundand also to extend considerably below'the pointsof the regular guard fingersto which they are attached, whereby` theywill raise the vines over the knife soV that the possibilityY of cutting lthe pods is largely overcome. v

It is to be understood' that I do not wish to be limited to' the, specific construction shown anddescribed herein,l except Vas the` same may'come within the scope ofthe appended claims, as various modifications of` such construction will occurto those skilled in the art. Y f

Ifclaimr 'Y j 1. A lifting guard for the4 guard finger of a mower, comprising a membery havingV a cavity formed ltherein intermediate its endsY forvreceiving the forward end of said guard finger, a springin said cavity for cooperating with said 'guard finger, and means-at y the rear end of saidv member for, pivotally connecting thesame to the'inower.

2. A lifting guard for Vthe guard finger of a mower, 'comprising a member having a cavity formed therein for receiving ther forward end of said guard finger, means at the reargeiid of said member for pivotally con-Y necting the same'toa mower,l and yielding means 4cooperating with said guard finger and so disposed within said cavity asrto normallyforce said member. downwardly.

3. A lifting guard forfthe guard finger of a mower, comprisinga membervv having a Cavity. formed therein mtermedlateglts :ends

and open at the rear for receiving the forward end of said guard nger, a projection formed in the forward end of said cavity, a coiled spring engaging over said projection and cooperating with said guard finger for yields ingly connecting said lifting guard with said guard finger, depending webs on said member and spaced from said cavity, and means pivotally connected with said webs for supporting said lifting guard on the mower.

5. The combination with a mower coinprisiiig a finger bar and a guard linger mounted thereon, of a lifting guard'movably mounted to extend forwardly of said guard finger, and yielding means interposed between the forward end of said guard finger and said lifting guard to hold the latter in its operative position. Y

6. rlhe combination with a mower comprising a finger bar and a guard finger mounted thereon, of a lifting guard pivotally mounted at its rear end on said finger bar, and yielding means interposed between said guard finger and said lifting guard to hold the latter in its operative position.

7 The combination with a mower com prising a finger bar and a guard finger mounted thereon, of a lifting. guard pivotally mounted at its rear end on said finger bar and provided with a cavity in its under side, and yielding means mounted in said cavity and cooperating with the forward end of said guard finger to hold said lifting guard in its operative position. y

8. The combination with a mower comprising a finger bar and a guard finger mounted thereon, of a lifting guard having depending webs at its rear end portion, means for pivotally connecting said webs to said finger bar, and spring means mounted in` said lifting guard for yieldingly connecting the-saine with said guard finger.

9. The combination with a mower comprising a finger bar and a guard finger mounted thereon, of a lifting guard pivotally mounted at its rear end on said finger bar and having a cavity therein, said cavity eX- tending longitudinally thereof and open at its rear end for the reception of the forward end of said guard finger, and means mounted in said cavity and cooperating with said guard finger for yieldingly holding the forward end of said lifting vguard down in operative position..` V

710.k The combinationv withl a mower coni-V prising a finger bar` and a guard finger mounted thereon, of a lifting guard having its rear end pivotally mounted on saidfinger bar, and yielding Vmeans mounted 'in said liftingk guard forward of its `pivot mount-` ing and reacting directlyqagainst said gua-rd Y finger for normally holding the forward endl of said lifting .guardvin its operative position.

prising a finger bar and a guard finger mounted thereon, of a lifting guard pivotally mountedionsaidlfinger ba'r and extending forwardly therefrom, said lifting guard having a longitudinally extending. cavity' formed therein and'cpen at its rear end, a spring mounted at one end 1n said cavity, and a cap mountedV on the forwardV endof saidguard finger, said springfbearing against said cap. Y I

l2. The combination with a mower com prising a nger bar and `a `guard finger mounted thereon, of a lifting guardvpivotally mounted on said finger bar and extend? ing forwardly therefrom, said lifting guard having a longitudinally extending cavity formed therein open at its rear end, a cap mounted on theA forward end of said guard finger, and a spriiigvinterposed between said cap and theforward end of said cavity for yieldingly connecting said guard finger with said lifting guard.

13. The combination with almower comprising a finger ,bar` and a guardv finger mounted thereon, of a lifting guard pivotally mounted on said finger bar and`extending forwardly therefrom, said lifting guard having a longitudinally extending cavity l1. The combination with a mower comfv formed therein open at its rear end, a cap i mounted on the forward end of said'guard finger, and a spring interposed between said cap and the forward end of said cavity for yieldingly connecting said guard finger with said lifting guard, the upper and lower walls of said cavity coacting with said guard finger to form sto-p means forpre.-v venting downward and upward movement of said lifting guard beyond predetermined points. i Y, i

14. The combination with amower comprising a finger bar and a guard finger mounted thereon, of a lifting guard pivotally mounted on said-finger bar and extending p forwardly therefrom, said lifting guard having a cavity formed thereinopen at its rear end, and a cap mountedon `the forward end of said guard finger, said cap providing a wearing surface between said guard finger and the upper and lower walls` of said cavity in the pivotal movement of said lifting guard relative to said guard finger. y

lio

1ery

.'15.` The eombinationof alifting guard, means mounting the lifting guard on a outting apparatus having aiguard finger, a cap mounted on the guard finger, and yieldingy means interposedv between said .cap and said lifting guard. Y.

.16. The combination of a lifting guard, means pivotally mounting the lifting guard on a cutting apparatus having a guard finger, a cap mounted on the guard finger, and yielding lmeans interposed. between said Cap and said lifting guard. t 17. The combinationof a lifting guard, meanspivotally mounting the lifting guard on a cutting apparatus having a guard finger,` said lifting guard having a Cavity formed therein, a Acap mounted on said `guard finger and extending into saideavity, andl yielding means interposed between said Gap and said lifting guard.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set nay-hand this 23rd day of September, A. lD.

WILBUR J. ooULfrAs.

CERTlFICATE 0l? CORRECTION.

Patent No. 1,877, 272. September 13, 1932.

WLBUR l. COULTAS.

lt is hereby certified that the residence ol the applicant in the above numbered patent was erroneouslyfdeseribed and specified as "Rock island, Illinois", whereas sai'd'residence should have been described and specified as Moline, illinois, as shown by the record of ille case in this office; and that the said Letters Patent "should be 'read with this correction therein hat the same may conform to the record o the case in the Patent Gliice. f

Signed and sealed this 29th day ol November, A. l). 1932.

M. Il. Moore,

(Seal) Acting Commissioner o Patents. 

